Coro: Morris’ trade value ‘isn’t going to be much different come summer’
Feb 13, 2016, 8:00 AM | Updated: 1:43 pm
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
For the second straight season the Phoenix Suns find themselves in a precarious position at the trade deadline. Last year it was Goran Dragic, who asked for a trade and had a specific list of teams he wanted to be traded to appear in national reports.
This year’s situation with Markieff Morris isn’t quite as bad, but the Suns are still jostling with an unsettled player and presumably are unable to find common ground with his current value on the trade market.
With that said, the Arizona Republic‘s Paul Coro joined Bickley & Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Friday and noted that the Suns are in the power position this time around.
“They’re not in a position where they have to do something like a year ago with Goran Dragic, when he was asking for a trade, but he was a guy that was going to be a free agent in the offseason and said he wouldn’t re-sign,” Coro said.
“With Markieff, as arduous as another 28 games would be, his value isn’t going to be much different come summer than now and nothing is on the line for them between now and then so if there’s not a deal that makes sense to them, they don’t have their feet to the fire to do it now.”
The Suns are indeed in that position, with a top five pick in the 2016 NBA Draft looming and young players like Devin Booker and Archie Goodwin receiving increased playing time in February. If there was ever a season for the Suns to hold onto a disgruntled player, this would be the one.
While Morris is the headliner, the Suns have several players that contending teams could make a run at and Coro noted a few of them.
“Guys like Mirza Teletovic, P.J. Tucker have a lot of trade value on the market,” Coro said. “Those are guys that could fit in to contending teams and would have value to be a role player. Teletovic has established his three-point shooting again, Tucker’s defense fits in just about anywhere.”
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 18.